Tracking ships turning back in the Strait of Hormuzpublished at 19:05 BST
Image source, MarineTraffic
Paul Brown and Richard Irvine-Brown, BBC Verify
Monitoring shipping activity in the Strait of Hormuz, using
maritime tracking website MarineTraffic, can be challenging as some
vessels suddenly appear and disappear, likely because their AIS trackers are
turned on or off. But there are some journeys worth noting.
Five vessels look as though they have made sudden about-turns
earlier today, two of which have stopped near the western edge of the strait
according to the latest data.
For example, the Lumina Ocean appeared on the western edge of the strait around 12:45 UTC (13:45 BST, 16:15 local), close to the time of Iran's announcement.
It was following the northern route through the waterway but made a 180-degree turn around 14:30 before appearing to stop at the western edge where it remains, edging slightly north, at time of writing.
Tracking data shows another tanker, the Abu Dhabi III, approached the western side of the strait along the southern route around 10:00 and also appeared to U-turn, stop at the western edge at approximately 14:00, and then disappear from the tracking data around 14:45.
Later, the Gulf Sunrise and Monaco Loyalty were seen to make the same adjustment and leave the strait in the opposite way to their original headings.
Also on the southern route, the Titan Harmony is notable for entering the strait around 05:30, making a 180-degree turn at 07:30 (long before the announcement) and leaving by 10:30.
